In the aftermath of the early Tuesday snowfall that resulted in far less than the forewarned blizzard, New York's Manhattan-centric media are hustling to have it both ways.

lonnie quinnPre-storm, they drummed up a steady diet of stories predicting "Snowpocalypse NYC," a storm that would challenge their food deliverymen and Uber drivers.

WCBS-TV weatherman Lonnie Quinn went into his traditional full panic mode, warning viewers Sunday night he would have to pack his shaving kit since he'd be riding out the storm at the TV studio for the next couple of days. I wonder how many people sent care packages to embattled poor, working class hero Lonnie.

Mercifully, the storm spared the city -- though it more than lived up to computer model expectations by dumping about 30 inches of snow 60 miles east in Suffolk County, cutting off places like Nantucket and burying eastern Massachusetts.

That wasn't good enough for NYC newshounds. They don't do good news. The storm failed to meet their expectations. Action was needed.

Post-blizzard that wasn't, political leaders such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio were chided by the media for adopting precautionary measures such as shutting subways and roads. Those moves may have been adopted in part because Andy and Bill got scared out of the wits by listening to guys like Lonnie.

The media's disgraceful "Monday morning quarterbacking" is nothing more than desperate attempts to cover their own tracks of hyped reports.

The First Amendment guarantees the right to report. Attached to that right should be a measure of responsibility.

The media blew it. They should own up.